Chapter 289 – If Life Could Be Like the Moment When We First Met (Part Two) (1/2)
Chapter 289 - If Life Could Be Like the Moment When We First Met (Part Two)
Time seemed to endlessly flow by, but in actuality, it passed very slowly. From the time Xu Yourong carried him into the forest to the conclusion of that revolting battle, not much time had passed. The Garden of Zhou's sun had not risen much above the horizon. The morning wind and the morning light together fell upon the forest. Cut into every size and shape, the morning wind slowly swept up the fallen leaves, causing them to softly rustle, while the morning light suffused them with every kind of light.
Chen Changsheng gazed off into the distance in silence.
He had none of Zhexiu's natural instinct for danger, nor did he have the ability to use Xu Yourong's Fated Star Plate calculate the dangers ahead. In those far off places bathed in the morning light, he saw no figures, nor did he sense any danger, much less see any of his enemies. But he felt that it was too quiet over there. While silence was not a sufficient reason, he still felt that something was off.
Although there were Three Thousand Scriptures of the Great Dao, he only cultivated the Dao of following his heart. Those two demon beauties were no doubt still chasing after him, and he could possibly meet a treacherous and terrifying human cultivator like that old freak. And since he had no way of protecting himself, he could only rely on his senses, rely on the only Dao he had cultivated over his more than ten years of life.
So without any hesitation, he turned and began walking through the forest to the other direction. His expression was somewhat hurried, but his feet were incapable of hurrying. This was because he was still severely injured and was now carrying the white-clothed girl on his back. But even more importantly, it was because his body was much colder than usual. His breathing and heartbeat were at least a third slower than normal. His eyebrows and the hair around his forehead were once again covered with frost. The dew which stained his shirt had frozen into flakes of snow, which were blown off his body by the morning wind, only for dew to rapidly freeze on his body once more, and then once again be blown off by the wind. They fluttered down behind him, leaving behind a very clear trail through the forest.
Not long after he left, heralded by a chilly air, Nanke and the zither-playing old man arrived at that place. Her gaze moved across that trail of frost into the distance. How sharp was her gaze that she could so casually glance at this trail and obtain so much information? Chen Changsheng had already awakened and he was carrying Xu Yourong on his back as they made their escape. His injuries had clearly not recovered and his steps seemed somewhat slow.
A hint of confusion appeared on the slightly wide space between her brows. According to what her maids had told her, Chen Changsheng had been heavily injured last night. He should still be hanging on the brink of death, so how did he so quickly recover? Her spiritual sense had also sensed Bai Hai's corpse in that cave, but she had no time to find out what had happened there. She thrust out her arms to both sides of her body.
Those two demon beauties transformed into two lights, vanishing without a trace. A pair of green wings appeared behind her back, then with the whistling of the wind, she disappeared. The zither-playing old man looked out of the forest and confirmed that the mysterious and dangerous plain was not far from here. He couldn't help but crease his brow as he guessed at what might occur. But he had no other choice than to follow.
The forest gave way to the shore of a pool of water. Green patches of reeds took up his entire vision like they were about to fill the horizon, but in fact, the moment he passed this patch of reeds, he would be in the plains. The cold Qi had helped Chen Changsheng suppress his wounds, but it had also greatly slowed his metabolism. Right now, his heartbeat and breathing were far too slow, so he also walked very slowly. It had taken him a long time before he finally reached this point.
He did not know that not too long ago, Xu Yourong had carried him out of that patch of reeds across from him. He only knew that if he continued forward, he might mistakenly end up in the terrifying plains. And yet he had no other choice except to follow his heart. Following the path upon which he had come, he made his way into the wetland. As his body moved through the water, it brought ice along with it.
He walked into the patch of reeds, and just as he was beginning to ponder whether he should risk going forward or turning to another direction, the sound of the wind on the shore told him that there was no need to think.
With a cold and clear wind, the surroundings were suffused with a pure green light, robbing all the trees and reeds of their color.
A little girl with a cold expression appeared on the shore. She stared at him expressionlessly as if he were a cricket or an ant.
Seeing her disheveled hair and bloodstained clothes, and most importantly of all, her appearance, Chen Changsheng was startled, like he had seen something that was somewhat surprising. Besides, he was not holding his dagger right now because he knew that the difference in strength between him and this demon expert was too great. Since battle was meaningless, he chose to be silent, thus giving off a very calm appearance.
He had always been very calm and steady. No matter what big thing occurred, he would never grow melancholy, nor would he ever lose his head in panic. This part of his character allowed him to possess a temperament far surpassing his age, and also made people feel surprised. Xu Yourong was surprised, and now Nanke was also surprised. She did not believe that this was the youth who had received such deep favor from the Pope, so she asked, ”So you are Chen Changsheng?”
Chen Changsheng had never met her, nor did he know that she was the Demon Lord's most beloved daughter. However, yesterday on the lakeshore, he had heard Zhexiu mention that name. From the look on Zhexiu's face back then, he was very certain that this little girl was extremely frightening. Similarly, he did not know that her target was the white-clothed girl on his back. He thought that she had come to kill him, so he was even more vigilant than usual. But he was also childishly happy—to think that not too long ago, he was just a young and unremarkable Daoist fresh from the countryside of Xining Village, but now he had already matured into a target worthy of even the attentions of the most frightening and powerful demons. As he thought this way, he returned the question. ”So you are Nanke?”
This was the first time that Chen Changsheng would meet Nanke, and this was also the first time Nanke would meet Chen Changsheng. In the future, they would represent the humans and demons and meet many times on the battlefield, engaging in hand-to-hand combat and creating a not at all interesting story that would only cause one to feel exhausted. More than once, Nanke would think back to that morning they first met and would often feel a faint sense of remorse. She would think to herself, if I had been a bit more decisive that day and not listened to any of his nonsense, then maybe I really could have killed him there, and then there would be none of these troubles or stories.